The 26th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWPSA Symposium will take place on 29-31 October 2025, hosted in a hybrid format coordinated from Ciela Resort, Lusaka, Zambia. This year’s theme is “Accelerating Implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management in order to Close the Water Investment Gap by 2030 and Beyond in Eastern and Southern Africa”.
The African SIDS Blue Economy Project, a joint initiative supported by the Global Environment Facility, implemented by UNDP, and executed by the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa, under the leadership of the African Union Commission as the focal custodian of the project, was showcased at the Africa Blue Economy Week taking place at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Africa Blue Economy Week took place from 23 to 25 September 2025.
The African Union Commission, in partnership with the Global Water Partnership Africa, is fast-tracking climate finance readiness across the continent through the AU-AIP GCF Readiness Support Initiative, now being implemented in 15 AU Member States. Over recent months, the initiative has recorded tangible milestones that demonstrate growing institutional capacity, stronger investment preparation, and Africa’s readiness to absorb and deploy climate finance at scale.
18 September 2025, Gaborone, Botswana: The Southern African Development
Community (SADC), in collaboration with the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho and with the support of the German Government through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), will host the 11th SADC Multi-Stakeholder Water Dialogue in Maseru, Lesotho, from 29 to 30 September 2025.
Six African Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have officially launched a USD 9 million project to advance sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient blue economies. The initiative was unveiled at a three-day inception workshop held in Mauritius from 4–6 August 2025.
Against the backdrop of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, the first hosted by an African nation, 2,000 delegates will convene in Cape Town from 13-15 August 2025 for the inaugural AU-AIP Water Investment Summit, a strategic platform to drive water-related investments and reforms. Over 80 transformative water projects from across the continent will be showcased to potential funders & investors, through which possible deals will be signed.
The Governments of Eswatini, Mozambique and South Africa have officially endorsed and kick-started the implementation of a joint transboundary water project titled “UNDP-GEF Project: Strengthening Integrated Transboundary Management of the Incomati and Maputo River Basins.”
The Government of the Republic of South Africa, in partnership with the African Union - Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AU-AIP) invites members of the media wishing to cover the forthcoming African Union-AIP Water Investment Summit to apply for accreditation. The Summit is scheduled to take place from 13 to 15 August 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTIC) in Cape Town, Western Cape.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Water Development and Sanitation of the Republic of Zambia, and with the support from the German government through the SADC GIZ Transboundary Water Management (TWM) project and the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA), will host the SADC Resource Mobilisation and Transboundary Water Investment Workshop in Lusaka, Zambia from 24 to 25 July 2025.
Over 80 participants representing African Union Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have been trained in tracking and reporting water investments using the AIP-PIDA Water Investment Scorecard, a key tool under the African Union’s Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP).
